Help for women alcoholics and their families

(Family Features)

It’s just a few drinks with dinner, or some wine to unwind at the end of the day — that’s not a problem, right? For some women, it’s not. But it’s estimated that 5.3 million women in the U.S. drink in a way that threatens their health. It’s a significant women’s health issue that more people need to be made aware of.

Women and Alcohol

Women are at greater risk for developing alcohol-related problems, and some of that is due to simple biology. When alcohol passes through the digestive tract, it gets dispersed in your body’s water. The more water available, the more diluted the alcohol gets.

Alcohol also gets stored in body fat. Pound for pound, women have less water and more body fat than men do. So even with equal consumption, women’s brains and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and more of the toxic byproducts formed when the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol. This means that women get intoxicated faster than men do. Women also develop alcohol-abuse problems, as well as alcohol-related physical health problems, at lower doses and in less time than men.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) says that women who develop alcoholism have death rates nearly 75 percent higher than male alcoholics. Death from alcohol-related accidents, heart disease, stroke, cirrhosis of the liver and suicide happens more frequently in women.

Barriers to Getting Help

Even with such high risk factors and such dire consequences, fewer women (25 percent) than men (75 percent) are in alcohol treatment programs, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Prevention (NIAAA).

“Women face some significant barriers to getting treatment,” said Molly O’Neill, president and CEO of First Call, (www.firstcallkc.org) an affiliate of NCADD based in Kansas City. “Lack of child care and limited financial resources are two of the biggest practical issues women face. They have a harder time paying for treatment costs and the child care they need in order to attend.”

Getting Help

The good news is that once in recovery, women are more likely to stick with it. And many women take their first steps toward recovery by talking with their healthcare providers.

To make getting access to help easier, and to help other human services agencies manage client care, First Call developed an online program called Community CareLink. “We’ve found that women and children have trouble getting coordinated care,” said O’Neill. “Community CareLink helps facilitate referrals and evaluations, and it gives people access to care they might not otherwise receive. We’re very excited to share this program with agencies all across the country.” (Learn more about Community CareLink at www.mobileccl.org.)